Snow Storm in the US Causes "Serious" Blackout North of Mexico

Mexican President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador warned on Wednesday that the situation north of Mexico "is serious" after a snowstorm in the U.S. has cut the supply of natural gas that Mexico imports to provide electricity to that region.

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"This affected the country's distribution, production; the electric power plants operate with gas, the gas supply was suspended because they have declared an emergency in Texas. The situation is serious," the president explained during a press conference.

On Wednesday, Mexico's Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) reported that 3.2 million users in 26 states suffered blackouts as hundreds of factories have been forced to close due to the power outages.

The Mexican president, best known as AMLO, has repeatedly criticized the country's reliance on foreign private companies and submitted a bill to strengthen the CFE despite the strong presence of its competitors. It is estimated that 60 percent of the electricity in Mexico depends on natural gas. 
 
Amid the power crisis, the presidency spokesperson Jesús Ramírez Cuevas highlighted " that the interruption in the supply showed the country's vulnerability by depending on gas from Texas."

"The neoliberals said that importing was cheaper. Before, it cost three dollars per unit (MMBTU), today it is worth 200, 5,000% more. For the good of the country, we must regain energy sovereignty," the official added.

On the other hand, AMLO explained that although the blackouts will continue, the government has been able to confront the crisis “because we are starting up plants that do not require gas, fuel oil plants, with coal to face the emergency, and planning has been carried out so that people do not run out of electricity."